Buchans of Borthwick

Buried with our Buchans in Newbattle Churchyard are five other people. Four of those are named Brown.  Refresh your memory of the lair records .  Is there a reason why they were buried across the same plots as the Buchans? When I found that three were related to each other, and the stillborn Brown child was also probably part of this family, I began to suspect that there just may be a link. The first child I looked at was named Janet McCree Brown and you can image why her name caught my eye. She was only 18 months old when she died of Croup on 13 April 1889. She was buried on 15 April 1889.  She lived at Hunterfield, as did the two other Browns. Hunterfield is a hamlet about 2 miles from Newlandrig, and is the closest settlement to our village. Janet's parents were revealed to be Abram Brown and Mary Falconer. I then bought this couple's marriage certificate of 31 December 1880. They married in Stobhill, another nearby small village near Gorebridge. I was thrilled to see ...

Janet McRae is missing - is that even her real name! Janet is the mother of Robert Buchan who arrived in Australia in 1852. She is named on his marriage and death certificates in Australia, but I can not find her in Scotland.  In May I will travel to Edinburgh to do 'local' research into the Buchans and Janet. This elusive ancestor of the Australian Buchans is relevant mostly to her descendants, but the strategy to 'find' her is the same as for any missing ancestor. The task will use DNA + Documentary records + TIME. I began this research in March 2022, during the Skills course of YourDNAGuide run by Diahan Southard. So it is already taking time. Because, to my knowledge, Janet's son Robert is her only child, the DNA for the research must come from Australian Buchans only. The story so far.... I believe that Janet McCray is the name listed as his mother on Robert Buchan’s marriage certificate of 1860, see image below.   His father is listed as Robert Buchan. DNA a...